Scheer visits Roxham Road, site of irregular border crossings, for campaign event

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is holding a campaign event this morning at Roxham Road in Quebec, an unofficial border crossing that has become a flashpoint in Canada’s immigration debate.

Between January and August this year, RCMP intercepted 10,343 people entering the country from the U.S. outside legal border points. That’s down from 14,125 in the same period in 2018.

During a campaign event in Markham, Ont. ahead of Scheer’s announcement, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said he’s pleased that people will have an opportunity to see the infrastructure the Liberal government built to screen and process the new arrivals. But he stressed there are no “shortcuts” in Canada’s immigration system and everyone is subject to the same rules.

“There are no skipping steps with our immigration system. Everyone arriving in Canada goes through the same immigration system, a full, rigorous immigration system that is being applied,” he said.

Trudeau said Canada continues to work with partners in the U.S. and around the world to spread that message, and talks continue on a possible update to the Safe Third Country agreement.

That agreement requires asylum seekers to make their claim for protection in the first safe country they arrive in. The agreement makes an exception for those who arrive in Canada outside of official border points.

Trudeau said Canadians remain in favour of immigration because they understand it benefits the economy and their communities.

“It only stays positively supported by Canadians because they have confidence that our immigration system works. And it works,” he said.